Californication
by BrokenShardss
Summary: Takes place during Grave and Tomorrow, Angel needs help and Buffy is there to save him, but what happens when they both reveal upsetting secrets?
1. Crash Into Me

**A/N: I was watching Grave, and when Willow was "feeling everyone" or whatever, I couldn't help but think that she was feeling Angel being chucked into the ocean, even if the time frames might be a little off. Anyways, I hated the Angel/Cordelia stuff in Tomorrow, so I figured I'd throw Buffy in the mix haha. Obviously just to be fair, I can't make Angel completely forget about Cordy, so I'll make sure that it's a gradual transition, only to stay true to the characters. Don't worry; I still love B/A best. Oh, and the whole 'burger' thing in this chapter is something that happened to my sister, so I just thought it was amusing. Also, I know most of the dialogue in the beginning is from the episodes Grave and Tomorrow, I just had to tie it all in. It'll get more original as you read on, promise. And wow, could I write a LONGER author's note? Okay— on with the story.**

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Willow collapsed to the floor with an overload of magic pumping through her veins. She closed her eyes and felt the power surge through every fiber of her being. At first the rush felt blissful, and indescribable. "This is-- Wow... It's incredible. I'm so juiced... Giles... It's like... No mortal person has ever had this much power. Ever. It's like I'm connected to everything... I can feel..." Her mind slowly cleared itself of the pleasant fog as the euphoria faded. "Everyone. Oh. Oh my God. All the emotion. The pain. No, it's too much. Oh, it's just too much..." She grasped the countertop and stabled herself as she stood up off the ground. She could hear Giles attempting to slur some words together from where he laid on the floor.

"Willow... It doesn't... have to be like that. You... you can... stop it." His words were all accompanied by painful groans and normally unnecessary gasps for breath.

Willow's mind was still flooded with visions of people's faces, contorted in agony from the cruelties of the world. She heard Giles' plea for her to stop the pain as a familiar face stood out among the millions screaming for salvation. "Yeah. I can. I have to stop this. I'll make it go away. Poor Angel…" Willow's voice was barely above a whisper, her thoughts still plagued with the torment of the world.

Giles realized with horror what Willow intended to do. He heard something about an angel, but his train of thought was too focused on Willow's enormous amount of power and the destruction it could wield. "No…" He gasped out the one word weakly before letting his head drop back down, as he slipped into unconsciousness.

Willow raised her arms to her sides and built up her magical energy, causing the atmosphere around her to bend to her will. "Oh, you poor bastard... Your suffering has to end." She was going to end this wretched world and rid it of all the pain. But first she had a task in mind for a certain pesky slayer. The ions in the air around her body burned and expanded until she disappeared from The Magic Box completely.

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Buffy ran frantically down the street and towards the graveyard, trying her hardest to outrun the fireball that was rapidly nearing Xander and Dawn.

Dawn looked up into the sky and saw a glowing, orange orb quickly moving towards where she was standing. "What is that?"

"Get out of there! Move!" Buffy's yells drifted over the gap dividing her from the others, causing them all to turn and look at Buffy in shock. Before any of them could do anything, Buffy had already closed the distance between them and tackled Dawn to the ground. She flew her hands up to her face, expecting any moment to feel an earth-rattling crash behind where she had landed. Instead, the only sound that drifted to her ears was a strange electrical crackling noise that reminded her of the time Dawn had tried to microwave her burger while it was still in the aluminum wrapper. When she removed her hands from her eyes she saw an extremely menacing-looking Willow towering over her. "Willow…" Buffy grunted in exhaustion as she lifted herself up to stand in front of Willow. "Look Wil, you don't have to do this, I can help—"

Willow raised her hand and waved it in Buffy's direction. "Stop talking." She was almost tempted to smile at the shocked expression on the normally calm slayer as she realized she couldn't talk. But she remembered her purpose and shifted her focus back to why she was here. "You aren't going to be able to stop me. You know that. But there is someone in this world that needs your help at this very moment." Willow could see the confusion on Buffy's face and continued to explain. "It's Angel." Willow raised her hand again, undoing the spell and returning Buffy's speech.

Buffy's confusion faded as her mind was flooded with blind fear for Angel. She couldn't help but worry, even if this was only a ploy to keep her out of the way. "Willow, I'm not leaving you. Angel can take care of everything without my help." She hoped that her words sounded convincing, since she sure as hell didn't believe them herself. "You don't have to do this, you can stop now. Let me help you."

"This isn't about me. Angel needs your help now. You and I are done." She raised her arm and gestured in Buffy's direction.

"No, Willow, I'm not—" She stopped abruptly as she felt a jerk in her stomach. She crumbled to the ground, landing on soft sand. "What the…?" Buffy looked around, only to find she was no longer in the cemetery and Willow was no where to be seen. She gazed further down the beach and spotted two figures that appeared to be fighting. "Might as well do some good while I figure out where the heck Willow sent me." Within seconds Buffy could see the two men, and understood why she was here. Angel was getting the crap beat out of him by some scrawny, androgynous kid, and she had to stop it. As she got closer she could make out what they were saying.

"It's all about balance. You lose it…" The kid threw Angel into the sand. "You lose."

Buffy watched as Angel got up, only to be kicked in the face. She was about to interfere when she saw Angel grab the kid from behind.

"Easy. Talk to me. Talk to me, okay?" Angel kept his grip on the kid until he finally stopped struggling.

"Okay." The kid pulled himself free as Angel loosened his grip.

Buffy thought that everything was alright, and started to wonder why Willow even bothered to send her here. Then she saw the kid pull something out of his pocket. "ANGEL!"

Angel whipped his head around, only to be met by Connor's tazer blast. He flew backward and landed in the surf. He looked up to see Connor jumping on top of him. He prepared himself for the blow he knew was coming, but instead something caused Connor to fly backwards off of Angel.

Buffy grabbed the kid by the back of his shirt and threw him roughly onto the beach. "Now I don't know what your problem is, kid…" She blocked his oncoming punch and slammed him across the jaw with a right hook. "But you know... I'm taking precious time out of an apocalypse to come down here…" She caught his leg as he tried to kick her stomach. "So, I gotta say…" She used his leg to flip him backwards off his feet and connected her fist against his face one last time before his head sunk down to rest on the sand. "I don't really like you." She brushed the sand off of her shirt and walked over to where Angel still lay in the water. She reached down and pulled him upright. "How're you feeling?"

"Buffy? What… what are you doing here?" He was just as surprised as he was pleased to see her.

"Saving your ass, apparently." She smiled sweetly at him, momentarily forgetting about all her problems as she got lost in his eyes. "Come on; let's get you somewhere a bit dryer."

"My car's up there." He motioned towards the top of the bluff.

"Alright." Buffy started to climb the steep wall, but then turned around to see Angel's undeniable struggle to climb up. She walked back down to him and reached her arm around his body. "Here we go." She gingerly helped him climb back to where his car was parked.

Angel tried his best to hide his occasional winces in pain from his injuries. He couldn't believe Connor had done this to him. "Wait, Connor."

Buffy turned her head to face him. "What?"

"We're just going to leave him?" He was torn; he still wanted to think that Connor was a son who needed love and protection.

"No, I thought we'd bring the psycho who tried to kill you with us." She raised her eyebrows at him, her sarcastic tone very clear. "Of course I'm leaving him. He could wake up anytime now." She opened up the passenger side door of the car and lifted Angel inside. She scanned over his body and even in the dim light of the car she could tell he was a lot more injured then he would be willing to let on. "I think I better drive."

Angel didn't protest, but was curious about what she would do with her own car. "What about your car?" He looked around, but oddly enough, he didn't see any other cars up here.

"I don't have one." She sat down in the driver's seat and pulled on her seatbelt.

"How'd you get here then?" Angel strained out his words and coughed a bit in between. Connor really had done a number on him.

"Trust me, you wouldn't believe me if I told you." She rolled her eyes at the thought of her weird situation. But the thought of being closer to Angel made everything worthwhile and she smiled a bit as she started up the car. "Where to?"

"Hyperion Hotel." Angel looked over at the beautiful woman driving his car. She had changed, but inside he could tell she was still the same sweet girl he had fallen in love with. He closed his eyes, thankful that for once he didn't have to be strong and put on a happy face. With Buffy, he could just be Angel… and that was enough.

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Buffy pulled up to the hotel and turned off the car. "Home, sweet home… I guess." She got out of the car and walked around to open up the door for Angel.

"You know, traditionally it's the man's job to open the door for the woman." He smirked a little and draped his arm over her shoulder for support as he got out of the car.

"I never was much for tradition." She carefully ascended the steps that led to the doorway and helped Angel inside. She led him over to the circular couch in the center of the lobby and let him sit down on it. She spun around and took in her surroundings. "Nice place." 

"Thanks." Angel gritted his teeth as he shifted on the couch in a vain attempt to get comfortable.

Buffy glanced over and noticed a small cut on Angel's cheek. She walked over and sat down next to him. Slowly and carefully she raised her hand up and extended her fingers to touch his face. She lightly brushed her fingers along his cheekbone, underlining the cut. "Does it hurt?" Her fingers continued to trail down his jaw line, letting an errant finger pass over his smooth lips.

"I'm feeling better." He reached up and wrapped his hand around her wrist, removing her fingers from his skin.

"Sorry." Buffy mumbled under her breath, feeling embarrassed. It was so confusing to be right next to Angel and not be allowed to touch him. "So, uh, you wanna tell me why that kid wanted to bash your face in?"

Angel could tell Buffy was feeling uncomfortable, but he really wished she had chosen another topic. He sighed deeply and decided to tell her the truth. "He's… he's my child."

"Oh." Buffy got up off the couch and walked over to the counter. She started fiddling with some pens sitting in a can. "So I guess you're feeling pretty guilty, huh?"

Angel couldn't believe she was handling this so well. "Uh… yeah. I taught him every move he knows."

"Good thing you didn't teach him mine." She laughed a little and flashed her teeth at Angel in a smile.

"Yeah… I guess." Angel couldn't wrap his head around it, why wasn't she freaking out?

"So… how old is he? Like 100… 150? I mean, you did sire him when you were Angelus, right?" She lifted a pen up and started clicking it repeatedly. "Unless you sired him the last time you went evil, which would make him like—"

"Buffy, he's not a vampire." Angel cut her off, realizing what she had thought he meant.

Buffy stopped clicking the pen and returned her focus to Angel. "What?"

"He's human. He's my son."

"Your son? What… how? How is that even possible? He's like Dawn's age, so what, you just popped out a kid before you even met me?" Buffy started pacing back and forth, still waving the pen around and occasionally throwing her hands up to emphasize her words.

"No, he was just born last year. He grew up in a hell dimension." Angel sat up, separating his back from the cushion.

"A hell dimension? You let your son get sucked into a hell dimension even after everything that you know about them?" Buffy briefly stopped pacing as she glared at Angel incredulously. 

"Okay, I didn't LET him. He was taken from me." Angel thought back to the events that made him lose Connor and he shut his eyes tightly, trying to block out the memories.

"So all that stuff about you not being able to have children, was that just a lie to shut me up? Some line to make yourself feel more justified when you dumped me?" Buffy hated herself for unleashing on Angel like this, but her heart was breaking at the thought of possibly having Angel's baby.

"No, Buffy, I would never lie to you like that. I don't even know how…" He sighed and let his head drop down into his hands. He lifted his face back up to look into Buffy's eyes. "It's complicated."

Buffy's features softened as she locked eyes with Angel. She stopped pacing and sat back down next to Angel. "I'm sorry. I had no right judging you like that. I'm just surprised, is all."

"It's okay. I sort of deserved it. I should've told you about Connor sooner." Angel leaned back against the couch again and turned to look at Buffy.

"Obviously you were busy. I understand." She averted her gaze from Angel as she started awkwardly playing with her fingers. "So… who's the mom?" A part of her really didn't want to know the answer, but her curiosity got the best of her.

"Darla." Angel said her name quietly, and Buffy could hear a trace of pain in his voice as he said it.

"Are you sure it's even your kid? This tramp could've just said you were the dad and you being the noble guy you are, bought it. 'Cause you know, Darla... that sounds like a pretty trampy name to… wait, Darla?" Buffy's eyes grew wide as she had flashbacks of a vampire girl named Darla. "Darla, the vampire? The one you killed six years ago?"

"Yeah." Angel felt a twinge of guilt, knowing that Buffy was most likely jealous. "Wolfram and Hart brought her back."

"Oh. So you just decided to bone up on your old history?" Buffy knew she sounded petty, but honestly didn't care.

"It wasn't like that. I was going through a… dark time. I just wanted to be able to—"

"Feel something?" Buffy knew that state of mind all too well.

Angel looked at her quizzically. "Exactly." 

"I get it. I've felt the same way lately, and I've done some things I'm not very proud of." She held back the tears that threatened to fall. She was so ashamed of herself for being with Spike, and she was about to reveal to Angel what a monumental slut she had become.

"Buffy, what is it? Are you okay?" Angel laid a hand on the back of her neck and rubbed it softly in comfort. 

"I wish I hadn't, but I've been—" Buffy was interrupted by the entrance of a petite brunette girl and a large, bald black man.

"Angel? Oh my god, I'm so glad you're okay!" Fred rushed up quickly to be by his side. "We were worried about you, what happened?"

"I'm fine, Fred." Angel smiled weakly, trying his best to look like he wasn't in any pain. He quickly removed his hand from Buffy's neck, hoping that Fred didn't notice.

"That's good. We just hadn't heard from you and… who's that?" Fred finally stopped her babbling and noticed Buffy's presence.

"This is Buffy." Angel shot a glance in Buffy's general direction.

Fred said something quietly under her breath that sounded vaguely like "The girl with the funny name." She then extended a hand to Buffy and grinned. "I'm Fred, and that's Gunn."

Buffy shook Fred's hand and looked over at Gunn, who just nodded in response.

"What brings you to L.A.? Are you and Angel back together? 'Cause I told everyone that it was strange that you loved each other and weren't—" Fred continued to ramble until Buffy cut her off.

"I'm just here to help Angel." Buffy tried her best to hide the slight blush that crept onto her cheeks when Fred mentioned her love for Angel.

Angel turned to face Buffy, confused on exactly what had made Buffy come here. "How did you know I was in trouble?"

"Willow. She, um, sent me here. She said you needed me and… oh my god. Willow." Fear flashed into her eyes as she remembered her best friend's darker side wreaking havoc on Sunnydale. "I, um… I have to go." She scrambled quickly off of the couch, leaving everyone very baffled by her sudden exit.

Angel was the first up to follow her. She still had his car keys, and if he wasn't mistaken, he was fairly certain she was about to drive his car back to Sunnydale. He walked out of the hotel to see her turning the keys in the lock, about to open the door. "Buffy! Buffy, come on, wait a second."  
His vampire hearing kicked in as he heard a faint ticking noise coming from the car. He watched as Buffy opened up the door and a clicking noise resounded through the air.  
"NO!" Angel tried to run up to her, but was met with a blast of hot air as the car blew up in a giant explosion. His mind screamed in horror as Buffy was catapulted backwards onto the pavement. "BUFFY!"

**A/N: I dunno, I really wanted Buffy to blow up. I just thought it'd be neat. Lol man, why do I always end up writing fics at 1 in the morning? Yeah, so I realized I made it through an entire chapter with absolutely no mention of Cordelia… that was nice. Haha, she'll be in the next chapter for sure though. Review it and tell me if it's good… or tell me it's crap, just be nice about it :)**


	2. Of Tears And Regrets

**A/N: First off, I wanna thank all my reviewers. It means a lot that you guys read it and enjoyed it, I really appreciated it:) Okay, and to reassure you all, no, Buffy isn't dead. I'd never do that lol. Also, as I'll explain soon, the bomb was planted after they arrived at the hotel. I also want to apologize for the wait, I was gone for a while and couldn't update, and then my computer crashed and I had to rewrite most of the chapter. Thank you all for being patient, I hope my story was worth it. Alright, I'll let you read it now before I give everything away. Oh, and a big thank you to my beta Katie aka Ani8.**

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Angel rushed into the hotel, carrying a bloody, unconscious Buffy in his arms.

Gunn walked out from behind the counter and followed Fred over to Angel's side. "What happened to her?"

"There was an explosion. We need to get her to the hospital." Angel's voice was filled with concern for Buffy's safety. "Gunn, can you drive us?"

"Yeah, sure." Gunn made his way out to the car and opened up the door for Angel, who was still holding Buffy. "Here, I'll take her."

"No." Angel clutched Buffy a little bit tighter to his chest and looked down at her battered face. "I've got her." He got into the car, cradling Buffy in his arms all the way to the hospital.

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Buffy awoke to the faint beeping sound of a heart monitor, and the rhythmic dripping of an IV that was connected to her hand. Her eyes fluttered open, revealing a dingy hospital room. The curtains were pulled shut, but in the dim light of the room she could see Angel sitting in a corner, diligently watching over her. "Hey, there." Her voice was low and raspy and Angel snapped his head up quickly at the sound of it.

"You're awake." Angel smiled and moved his chair closer to her bedside. "How are you feeling?"

"Kinda like I got hit by a mack truck and fell off a ten-story building." She strained out a light smile. "I'm kidding."

Angel glowered at her, not buying it.

"Alright, so I'm not kidding. But I'll be okay. Slayer strength, remember?" Buffy lifted up the hand with the IV in it and moved it around as a display. "See, I've got full use of my limbs and everything."

"The doctors said you were in pretty bad shape. That explosion hit you full force." Angel felt a pang of guilt as he mentioned the explosion.

"Explosion?" Buffy thought back to the events that had happened before. "The car. I was trying to drive back to Sunnydale and… oh my god. I have to get back!" Buffy sat up in the bed and pushed back the thin blankets covering her body. "Willow and everyone, they need me. I have to—"

"Buffy, stop." Angel placed his hands firmly on both of her shoulders and gently pushed her back down onto the bed.

"Angel, no, you don't understand. She's going to end to world. I have to stop her!" Buffy tried to get up again, but Angel's strong hands held her in place.

"No, you don't." He removed one hand from her shoulder and pulled the blankets back up over her. "Everything's fine."

"What? No, it's not!" Buffy stared at him in shock, wondering what the hell was wrong with him.

"Yes, it is. I called Giles while you were asleep, everyone's okay." Angel let go of her shoulder and brought his hand up to her face. He carefully brushed a strand of hair back behind her ear before letting his hand drop down to the edge of the bed.

"Giles?" Buffy tensed up at his name, thinking back to what Willow had done to him.

"He's fine." Angel leaned back a bit in his chair.

"What about Willow?" Fear ran through her body again and she prayed that they hadn't killed her.

"She's okay too. Apparently Xander stopped her." He scoffed a bit at the thought of Xander doing something helpful.

"Xander saved the world?" Buffy's fear melted and she smiled again.

"I guess so." Angel tried his best to keep from rolling his eyes.

Buffy laid there in silence for a moment, then looked all around her and shut her eyes tightly. "I hate hospitals."

"I know." Angel looked down at his lap, not wanting to look directly at her. "I'm so sorry, Buffy. This is all my fault."

Buffy's eyes flew open as she turned to look at him. "How is this your fault? You didn't put that bomb in there, did you?"

"No, of course not. But I'm pretty sure that Connor did. He must have followed us home and done it when we were inside." Angel shook his head. "He was trying to hurt me."

"Angel." Buffy reached out her hand and placed it under his chin, lifting his face up so she could see it. "I was the one who ran out there. If anyone, it's my fault. Okay? Don't blame yourself." She smiled weakly and removed her hand from his cheek. Her hand dropped down into his lap and she intertwined her fingers with his.

"I can't help but feel responsible. He's my son, and I let you get involved." Angel gently tightened his grip on Buffy's hand as he spoke.

"You didn't let me do anything. I believe Willow was the one who decided to stick me out on that beach to help you." She returned the squeeze of his hand. "Speaking of which, why'd you pick such a romantic spot to have a fight? I was just curious. Some father-son bonding time gone awry?"

"No. He wasn't even supposed to be there. I was… umm, I was…" Angel's eyes widened as a wave of realization hit him.

"Angel? You were what? What is it?" Buffy searched his face in an attempt to read his expression, but she couldn't muddle through the confusion.

"I have to go." He abruptly shot out of his chair and released Buffy's hand. Without another word, he grabbed his coat and rushed out of the hospital room.

"Angel? Angel!" Buffy yelled as loud as her voice would allow, but it was no use. She sunk back down into her pillow in exhaustion, completely baffled about Angel's strange reaction.

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Angel rounded the corner and saw Fred and Gunn waiting patiently in the lobby. He walked up to them as he slipped his long coat on over his shoulders. "Watch her." He nodded his head in the direction of Buffy's room.

Gunn got up out of his chair with a look of puzzlement on his face. "Wait, where are you going?"

Angel yanked his coat up over his head. "There's something I have to do." He pushed open both of the glass hospital doors and stepped out into the dim morning light. He kicked open the nearest manhole and disappeared into the sewers.

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Angel busted open the door to Connor's room to see the scruffy teenager rummaging through some of his things.

Connor turned around to see Angel standing menacingly in the doorway. "Oh, hey Dad." He laughed at the arrogance in his voice as he sarcastically said 'Dad'. "So, who's the new girl?" He flippantly asked the question as he continued to go through his drawers. "She another one of those poor idiots that you tricked into believing you weren't a heartless bastard?" Connor barely had the chance to turn around before Angel slammed him in the wall by the throat.

"Where is she?" Angel's voice was barely above a growl.

"I don't know! She was with you!" Connor grabbed Angel's hand and pulled it off of his neck.

Angel regained his hold on Connor's throat and pressed him harder into the wall. "Not her. Cordelia."

"What about Cordelia?" Connor strained out his words due to the pressure on his vocal chords.

"You did something to her." The desperation was clear in his voice. He loosened his grip and removed his hand from Connor's neck.

"Why would I do anything to Cordelia? She wasn't the one who murdered my fa…" He closed his eyes for a second. "Holtz."

"I didn't kill him!" Angel slowly took in a deep breath. "Cordelia was supposed to meet me last night when you attacked me."

"And you just assume that I did something to keep her away. Did it ever occur to you that maybe she didn't show up because she realized the truth about you?" Connor smirked and started shoveling clothes and other items into a duffel bag. "I wouldn't hurt her."

Angel sighed. He knew that Connor wasn't lying. "I believe you." Angel closed the distance between him and Connor. "Now get out of my house."

"Gladly." Connor picked up his bag and ran into Angel's shoulder as he pushed by him.

"Oh, and Connor?" Angel watched as Connor turned around to face him. He swung back and delivered a hard right cross to Connor's cheek.

The force of the blow caused Connor to drop his bag and slam into the door frame. He brought a hand up to nurse his swelling face. "I told you, I didn't—"

"I know. That was for Buffy." Angel picked up the bag and shoved it into Connor's arms, keeping a firm hold on the handle. He pressed himself closer to Connor and glared down at him. "If you ever do anything to hurt her again, you'll get a lot worse than a black eye, understand?" He let go of the strap and pushed the bag into Connor's chest as he backed away.

Connor didn't bother to respond, he just slammed the door behind him as he left.

Angel listened to Connor's footsteps until he couldn't hear them anymore. Once he was sure Connor had left the building, he sunk down on the bed behind him. He let his head drop down into his hands and absent-mindedly ran his fingers through his hair as he contemplated what to do next.

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Buffy walked into the hotel with her arm draped over Gunn's shoulder for support. "Where is he?" She took a quick look around the lobby but didn't find Angel.

"He's probably up in his room, I'll take you there." Gunn offered up a smile as he steered Buffy towards the stairs.

"Thank you." Buffy readjusted her arm to make sure she wouldn't fall.

Once they reached Angel's door, Gunn slid Buffy's arm off of his neck. "Here you go."

"Thanks." She smiled weakly as she reached for the door knob. She quietly pushed the door open to reveal Angel sitting in a chair with his sketchbook.

Angel's head snapped up at her presence and quickly stopped drawing.

"So… you feel like telling me why you ran off and left me in hospital bed this morning?" There was a hint of anger in her voice when she spoke.

"Buffy, you're back." Angel got out of his chair and helped Buffy over to sit on the bed.

"Yeah. The doctor said I didn't have any major injuries. Which you would have known if you had stuck around." She looked up at him accusingly.

"I'm sorry. I just had something I needed to take care of." Angel felt a pang of guilt for leaving Buffy.

"Would that something have anything to do with why you were on that bluff last night?"

Angel sighed and sat down next to her. "Yeah."

"You feel like sharing?" Buffy knew he didn't, but she wanted to know anyway.

"I was supposed to meet Cordelia." Angel could feel the guilt swelling in his chest.

"And you're afraid that Connor did something to her." Buffy was starting to understand.

"That's the problem, he didn't do anything." Angel almost wished Connor had done something, only because it would make things simpler.

"Then what's with the dire? One night isn't exactly grounds for panic. She'll turn up." Buffy smiled sweetly and rested her hand comfortingly on Angel's knee.

"I hope so." Angel placed his hand overtop of Buffy's, enjoying the feeling.

"Wait." Buffy pulled her hand back. "Why were you meeting Cordelia there in the first place?"

Angel looked into Buffy's eye, not wanting to tell her the truth.

Buffy started rambling in an attempt to rationalize the situation. "What, did she have one of her vision things, and she had to tell you right away, so you guys just picked a convenient spot because it was—"

"I was going to tell her that I loved her."

The shock was evident on Buffy's face as she stopped talking. "You mean like friend love? As in 'I appreciate all you do for me' kind of love?" Buffy's heart sank when she didn't receive an answer. "I see."

"Buffy, I didn't mean to hurt you." Angel attempted to touch her, but she abruptly got off the bed.

"Hurt? Who's hurt? I'm fine." Her actions betrayed her words as she paced around the room. "It's not like I expected you to be hung up on me forever." She knew that was a flat out lie, but she hoped that Angel couldn't tell.

Angel got off the bed and walked over to her. "Buffy, stop." He grabbed her by the shoulders, stopping her pacing. "I'm sorry."

"You moved on. No need to be sorry." She was trying her hardest to be cruel to him, even though she really didn't want to.

Angel's dark brown eyes had pain etched all through them. He did love Cordelia, but he couldn't even imagine loving her the way he loved Buffy. "It doesn't mean that I—"

"Don't." Her eyes stung as hot tears started streaming down her face. "Don't tell me that you still love me, because when it comes to you and me I have this tendency to go catatonic."

Her words struck him like a blow to the stomach. "I remember."

"Oh, no." She shoved his arms off of her shoulders. "You don't get to play the good guy."

"Buffy, come on. You even said yourself that you've done things that you weren't proud of." Angel didn't want to hurt her, but his temper was flaring.

"Don't turn this around on me. You're the one who fell in love with a slut!"

"She is not a slut." Angel's words were punctuated by a growl.

"Oh, real cute, Angel. What are you gonna do, hit me?" She walked closer, daring him to do it.

"You know I wouldn't do that." Angel's voice was still filled with anger towards her.

"I seem to recall you did it before. While you were protecting yet another skanky brunette." The memory of that day only spurred Buffy on further. "I mean, speaking of things we aren't proud of, what about your little prison buddy Faith?"

"Don't bring her into this. I only meant that you have no room to judge me when you aren't exactly perfect either."

"I may not be perfect, but I'm not the one telling people I love them on romantic beaches!" The pain rang out in her voice.

"You were the one who told me you made mistakes." Their bodies were dangerously close now, his face only inches away from hers.

"Yeah, I made mistakes, but I was never in love with Spike!" The second the words came out of her mouth she wished she could take them back.

They stood there in complete silence for a few moments, unsure of what to say. Finally Angel stepped back from her. "Spike?"

Buffy shut her eyes tightly before meeting Angel's gaze again. "We were… I've been sleeping with him."

Angel chuckled at the thought of it. "Who's the slut now?"

Buffy couldn't believe he said that. She brought her hand up and slapped him across the cheek, leaving a red hand print. "How dare you? You don't know how hard it's been for me. I was torn out of heaven and the only time I ever felt anything was when I was with Spike. He made me feel loved."

"He wanted you as a trophy. You were just another slayer for him to obsess over." Angel's whole body was pulsing with jealousy. The thought of Spike getting his hands on Buffy made him want to do some serious damage.

"No. He really did love me. But I was just using him, so I broke it off." Buffy shook her head. "He tried so hard to make me love him." Images of Spike's attempted rape flashed through her mind. She shut her eyes and winced at the painful memories.

Angel's jealousy was replaced with worry as he saw Buffy's actions. He could sense that there was something she wasn't telling him. "Buffy." Angel moved closer to her to get a better look at her face. "Did he do something to you?"

The tears were back in Buffy's eyes. Xander had seen what had happened to her, but she hadn't told anyone else about it. "He-- he tried. I stopped him."

"He tried to rape you." Angel was overwhelmed with sadness and anger.

Buffy felt Angel's strong arms wrap around her body as he pulled her into a tight embrace. Sobs racked through her body as she cried into his shirt. She just felt so dirty.

Angel lightly stroked her hair as she cried. "I'm gonna kill him." He let her go and made for the door.

Buffy grabbed his arm. "Angel."

"No. I'm going to Sunnydale right now and I'm going to rip his head clean off his body." Angel tried for the door again, but Buffy placed her hand on his chest.

"You can't." She appreciated Angel's intentions, but couldn't let him go after Spike.

"After what he did? I'm going to do that and a lot worse." He removed Buffy's hand from his chest and squeezed it.

"I know. But he's gone. He took off somewhere."

"Then I'll just have to find him." Angel moved past Buffy, but he felt a small tug on his hand.

"Please. Can you just stay with me?" She smiled sweetly at him, glad that the fighting was over.

"Sure." Angel glanced over at the curtained windows and noticed that there was very little light shining through. "It's getting late, I'll let you rest." He led her over to the bed and let go of her hand.

Buffy laid down and watched as Angel went to sit in his chair. "Angel?" She knew it was risky, but she asked anyways. "Could you stay here?" She patted the bed beside her and looked up meet see his reaction. "Will you just hold me?"

The look on her face was enough to make his heart melt. He couldn't say no to her. He walked over to the bed and crawled beside her. He cradled her in his arms as she rested her head on his chest. His mind drifted back to another time he had held her like this.

"_This is the first time I've ever really felt this way."_

"_What way?"_

"_Like a normal girl… falling asleep in the arms of her normal boyfriend."_

They were the furthest thing from normal at this moment, but having her in his arms made everything feel right. He softly planted a kiss on the top of her head.

Buffy closed her eyes and snuggled closer to him. She knew that this didn't really mean anything and that tomorrow they would have to go back to their painful lives. But when she felt his lips press against her head she knew that this was exactly where she needed to be. The worries of Cordelia and Spike would just have to wait until later.

------

Up in the clouds, on some other plane, a shimmering figure watched over the couple. The figure's face slowly became clearer, and looked like a very pissed off woman. Cordelia Chase watched from above as Buffy fell asleep in Angel's arms. She huffed angrily. "That bitch."

------

**A/N: So, it's been awhile, and again I apologize. This wasn't the way I had intended the chapter to end, but I needed B/A cuteness. Plus I enjoyed Cordelia's reaction. And yes, I realize that the cuddle scene was very much stolen from Episode 7x20, Touched. But it was just too good to pass up! And so much better when it was with Angel hehe. Oh, also—Angel's memory quote was from Episode 1x8, I Will Remember You. So, please review and tell me what you think:D **


	3. Trials And Tribulations

**A/N: This chapter was hard to get out of me. Needless to say, I got a big time writer's block. Sorry bout the huge delay, I brought this fic back from abandonment… so I hope people still want to read it! Some of the dialogue is nabbed from Ground State, I played around with that episode some.**

Buffy shifted in her sleep. Her eyes barely flicked open and she surveyed her surroundings the best she could without moving. As her eyes became adjusted to the darkness of the room, she remembered the events from earlier. She looked down at the strong arm that was encircling her waist. A tiny hint of a smile appeared on her lips and she placed her hand over his much larger one. She regretfully lifted up his arm and carefully slipped out of his embrace. After sliding to the edge of the bed, she turned her head back to gaze at his face. It was amazing how different he looked when he was asleep. His features were gentler, and less filled with worry. His usually furrowed brow was relaxed… he just looked so unnaturally peaceful. She lightly grazed her fingertips across his cheek before turning around.

Stepping down onto the floor, Buffy's eyes trailed over to Angel's discarded sketchbook. It lay on the carpet, halfway peeking out from under a chair. She cautiously bent over and picked it up, fingering the leather binding. She glanced back at Angel before lowering herself into his chair. The thin notebook fell open easily, as a result of much use. The weathered pages appeared to be a darker yellow than they once were, and some of the lead markings from the drawings had smeared onto the previous pieces of paper. Thumbing through the pages, Buffy could pick out a few familiar faces. The almost majestic-like face of the vampire girl Darla graced several of the pages, along with a couple others that Buffy recognized from Giles' books. Buffy let the book fall open to the center page, revealing something unexpected. A slight smile tugged at the corners of her mouth as she stared at the beautiful drawing. It was as if a mirror had been placed into her lap, echoing a younger version of herself on the sheet. She was about seventeen in the picture, her hair crimped and tangled with wetness. Although it only showed a portion of her body, she could tell from her bare shoulders that Angel had drawn her without a shirt. Buffy's mind went into overload as she remembered what day the drawing was depicting. She closed her eyes and could feel his breath upon her skin, his large hands trailing down her arms, his soft lips as they pressed against her own. At that very moment, the entire world had fallen away, and it was only the two of them. A small spark lit up inside of her, hoping that Angel's feelings about her hadn't changed as much as she had thought. A faint groan broke the silence of the room as Angel turned over in his sleep. Startled by the sound, Buffy dropped the sketchbook to the floor.

"Oh, crap", she mumbled under her breath. She leaned over and lifted the book off of the floor. Setting it back into her lap, she scanned over the page it had fallen open to. It was a sketch of Cordelia. Her hair was shorter in length and appeared to be a lighter color than Buffy remembered. The smile on her face was wide and vibrant, not at all like the one Cordelia had worn in high school. Buffy laid her fingertips along the graphite lines, tracing the contours of Cordy's face. It was amazing how real Angel had made it look. Buffy's jealously flared back up and Buffy quickly shut the book. She set it down on the table and stood up out of the chair. Buffy crept over to the door and attempted to open it. Praying that Angel wouldn't wake up, she turned the knob and pushed. As she was about to slip out of the room, she heard Angel's voice.

"Where are you going, Buffy?"

"I, um, I just needed to get some air." It was a flimsy excuse, but Angel seemed too tired to object. "I won't be gone too long." She slid out into the hall and shut the door behind her. As she descended the stairs all she could think about was the image of Cordelia. As much as it killed her, she knew that she had to get Cordelia back. Buffy entered the lobby and saw Fred propped up against the counter. "Hey, there." Buffy leaned on the wall next to Fred.

"Oh, Buffy, hey." Fred closed the book she had been looking at and faced Buffy.

"Can I ask you a favor?"

"Sure, I guess." Fred was a bit wary, since the thoughts of what kind of favors a slayer would need permeated her mind.

"Well, the last I heard, Wesley was your mystical man, and I kinda need some help in that area." Buffy noticed the tension in Fred's expression at the mention of Wesley, but chose not to ask about it. "I was wondering if you knew where I could find him."

"Buffy, we, uh, we don't actually… well, you see, Angel, um…" Fred attempted to explain, but Buffy cut her off.

"Please, Fred? It's important." The pleading and desperate look on her face was enough to make Fred cave in.

"Okay." She scribbled down an address and handed the paper to Buffy. "This is his address. I can't be certain that he'll be home though."

"I'll take my chances." Buffy folded up the paper and pushed it down into her pocket. "Thanks." She flashed Fred a smile and exited the hotel.

Fred sighed as she watched Buffy leave. "You're welcome… I just hope Angel doesn't find out."

------

Buffy double checked the paper and looked back at the door in front of her. "Here goes." She rapped lightly on the door a few times. She was about to knock again when the door swung open. "Hi, Wesley."

"Buffy. What are you doing here?"

"It's a long story. But the short version is… I need your help. Can I come in?"

"Yes, of course." Wesley opened the door wider and allowed Buffy inside. He shut the door and led Buffy over to his couch. "So, what is it that you need? It's a bit strange for you to seek my help."

Buffy sat down and let out a deep breath. "Cordelia's missing. It's only been a day or two, but I highly doubt that she took a vacation without telling anyone… or without asking for paid leave." Buffy smirked, amused with herself, before continuing, "I think something supernatural happened to her."

Wesley lowered himself to the couch as well. "I see."

"I was hoping you would know how to find her. Considering my resident Wicca has recently gone off the deep end."

Wesley's eyebrows raised in a curious expression.

"Like I said, long story." She let out a brief, dry sounding laugh to accompany her comment.

"Well," Wesley shifted his position on the sofa. "There is one way. But Buffy, I don't think it's the best idea. Cordelia may be absent due to personal reasons."

"Yeah, but we're from Sunnydale, Wes. Nothing normal ever happens to us."

Wesley sighed. "That's true." He rose up off the couch. "We should check her apartment, to see if there's any clue as to where she might be."

"Okay." She stood up beside him. "Let's go then."

------

Buffy and Wesley stood in front of Cordelia Chase's apartment. Buffy glanced over at Wes. "You wouldn't happen to have a key on you?"

"Not really." Wes gave her an apologetic look.

"Well then, I hope they're insured." Grabbing the door knob, Buffy pushed hard until the door frame cracked and the door swung open. "That worked." Smiling to herself, she walked inside the room, followed by Wesley. "So… what are we looking for?"

"I'm not sure. Anything that looks out of the ordinary." Wesley flipped on the light switch and shut the door as well as it could now.

Buffy walked over to a large table and surveyed the objects on top of it. She lifted a photograph up out of the debris. "I guess she was feeling a bit nostalgic." The photo was of Cordelia, Wesley, and Angel. "This is what she looked like the last time I saw her. And now…" Buffy picked up a more recent picture of Cordy. "She's changed so much."

Wesley walked up behind Buffy and looked down at the pictures. "She really has."

Buffy spun around quickly to face Wes. "Wesley? Do you think…" A nervous laugh escaped from her lips. "Do you think that Cordelia and Angel were… in love?" As she reached the last two words, her voice took on a somber tone and her eyes brimmed with warm tears.

"That's not really my place to say."

Buffy lowered herself into a nearby chair. "I feel so stupid. I'm getting jealous over someone who hasn't been my boyfriend in years."

Wesley followed suit and sat down as well. "It's because you love him."

She shook her head. "I don't even know. But it doesn't matter… because he doesn't love me back. Not anymore."

"Of course he does. Those three months that he thought you were dead? There was no getting through to him. He was devastated at the thought of truly losing you."

"Then why? Why did he fall for her?" It felt strange to be talking to Wesley about all this, but at the moment she didn't have anyone else.

Wesley sighed. "Sometimes when we can't have the thing we want the most, we do what we can to ease the pain." It was ironic how closely Wesley could relate.

"I guess so." She sniffled lightly and brought her hands up to wipe her eyes. "We should probably get going. There's nothing here."

Wes nodded and helped Buffy out of her chair as he stood. His eyes locked with hers briefly, and he offered a comforting smile.

Breaking their contact, Buffy continued on with her task. "So, what's your other option?"

"It's dangerous." Wesley moved toward the door and made for the doorknob. Remembering Buffy's tactic for breaking in, he rethought that choice and simply pulled on the edge of the door to open it.

"My life is pretty much the definition of danger." She followed Wesley out into the hallway. As they reached his car, Buffy grabbed him by the arm. "Wesley." She stared intently at him, hoping that he would understand why she had to do this. "I have to find her. I'm the Slayer, I can handle this."

"No, you can't."

"Um, I'm sorry… how many apocalypses have I managed to stop? I think you're underestimating what I can do."

"No, I'm aware of what you're capable of. But the last time I checked, you still have a beating heart."

Buffy raised an eyebrow at him. "Wanna tell me where you're going with this? 'Cause you lost me a couple miles back."

"No one living can enter." He reached into his car and pulled out an envelope.

"But Angel could."

"Yes." Wesley reluctantly handed the envelope to Buffy. "This won't bring Cordelia back."

In the middle of slipping the envelope into her coat, Buffy's head snapped up. A defeated look appeared on her face.

"It might help you to locate her, but I can't guarantee anything."

Buffy's features relaxed a bit at this news. "Thank you." She debated walking to the hotel, but it occurred to her that she had no idea how to get there. "Um, would you mind giving me a ride to the hotel?"

Wesley hesitated a moment. "I suppose I could."

------

Back at the hotel, Angel had woken up and was worried about where Buffy had gone. He rushed downstairs and scanned the lobby for any sign of her. "Buffy?"

"She's not here."

Angel was startled by Fred's voice. "Where is she?"

"She sort of went to go see someone." She hated lying to Angel, but she didn't want to see what he'd do if she told him the truth.

"Who?"

"An old friend or something, I think." Her voice quivered as she spoke and she bit down on her lip in hopes that Angel hadn't noticed.

"Don't lie to me, Fred. Who is she with?"

"She's with…" Fred looked away from Angel and stared at the door. "Wesley."

Angel spun around to see Wesley and Buffy standing in the doorway. "Get away from her." A low, guttural growl emitted from his throat.

Buffy glanced back and forth between Angel and Wesley. "Angel, what are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about him." He moved forward to get closer to Wesley. "Get out of my house."

Buffy quickly scrambled over to the two men and got in between them. Spinning to face Angel, she pressed her hand firmly against his chest. "He was just helping me with something. He hasn't done anything wrong."

"Hasn't done anything wrong?" The breath that Angel didn't need hitched in his throat and his words came out quietly. "He stole my son. He's the reason that Connor attacked me. He almost got you killed!" His increasing volume caused the words to resound through the room. Angel's chest heaved with frustration.

The shock of this revelation took Buffy by surprise and her jaw dropped open in disbelief. Slowly, she looked back at Wesley's guilt-stricken face. "Wesley?"

"I should go. I hope that everything works out." His furrowed brow loosened up for a moment as he gave Buffy the tiniest of smiles.

Buffy in return shot him a grateful look before he exited the hotel. She could sense Angel's pain and she inched over to where he was standing. "Angel, I'm so sorry. I didn't know." She extended a hand in comfort, but Angel just pulled away.

"Don't." The lobby fell silent as he pushed his way past Fred and headed towards his office.

Feeling responsible, Buffy called after him. "Angel." She sprinted over to him, catching the door before his could shut it in her face.

Angel ignored her presence and proceeding to sit in his chair and begin brooding.

"Look, I know that I—"

Angel abruptly cut her off, "Why were you with him?"

Buffy let out a long breath and reached inside of her coat, pulling out the envelope. "For this." The envelope slapped down onto the desk as she dropped it.

"What is it?"

"It's a way for you to find Cordelia. Or at least it's a start."

Angel's anger dissipated and he looked up into Buffy's hazel-green eyes. "Why would you do this?"

"Because as much as I dislike it, I know she means a lot to you. And she was… almost my friend. I don't want anything to happen to her any more than you do."

"Thank you." Genuine appreciation shown in Angel's eyes and Buffy could tell how important this was to him.

"You're welcome." She started to leave, but stopped briefly. "Oh and… good luck."

"You're not coming with me?"

"Would if I could, but apparently only dead things like you can enter." Buffy smiled at him. "Don't worry, we're gonna find her." She turned and left the office, leaving Angel alone again. He opened the envelope and slid out a picture. "Dinza, Keeper of lost things." He shoved the picture back in and grabbed his coat. Quietly, he slipped down into the sewers beneath the floor.

------

After what seemed like hours stuck in a dark room with a crazy demon, Angel walked back into the hotel to see Buffy and Fred sitting on the couch laughing. He crept up unnoticed and could over hear their conversation.

"So then, Angel walks in and goes 'How about you both bite me?'"

Buffy burst into laughter at Fred's comment and Angel smiled at the sound.

"Looks like you two are getting along."

Buffy and Fred both jumped when he spoke. "God, way to give us a heart attack." Buffy glared at Angel, but it came out a lot less menacing than she had intended.

"Sorry next time I'll wear a little bell around my neck."

His attempt at sarcasm caused Fred to snicker lightly, while Buffy just smirked in annoyance.

"Well, did you find anything?"

"Yeah… except it's not going to be easy to get." Angel sat down next to Buffy.

"Get?" Buffy shot him a confused look.

"It's called the Axis of Pythia. It's currently at Chandler's Auction House."

Fred got up off the couch and walked over to the computer to search for more information.

"Okay then, let's buy it." Buffy stood up and moved over to stand behind Fred. "So, how much is it?"

Fred scrolled further down the auction house website. "Um… 33 million dollars."

"Whoa." Buffy looked over at Angel, who apparently was just as stunned as she was. "Did I mention that I was poor now? 'Cause I really am. Angel, there's no way we can buy this thing."

"Then we won't. We'll steal it."

"Yeah, great idea. You go bust our criminal friend, Faith, out of jail and I'll call up my klepto sister." A dramatic eye-roll accompanied her statement. She leaned up against the wall and crossed her arms over her chest. "We're not professional thieves. How are we supposed to steal something like this?"

"It can't be too hard. I mean, a heist like this, I've done it a million times. Okay, maybe twice, but I'm good at it, I swear."

"I hope you're not including the box we stole from the mayor that almost got Willow killed."

Angel laughed awkwardly. "No… of course not."

Buffy could see through Angel's façade and rolled her eyes yet again.

"The point is, we have to get it and that means stealing it. So let's just come up with a plan, okay?" Angel walked behind Fred and looked down at the computer screen. "Fred, find out their security devices." He looked over at Buffy. "Buffy, you come with me." Angel led Buffy up the stairs and opened the door to a room. "Cordelia used to keep some clothes here… maybe you can find something to wear."

Buffy smiled at him. "Okay." She walked inside and flipped on the light switch. Careful not to mess anything up, she slid one of the drawers open. Brightly colored designer material glared at her from the depths of the drawer. "Yeah, these are real stealthy." Digging deeper, she finally found a low-cut black top. She snorted lightly. "Figures." Eventually she found a pair of black jeans as well. Slipping out of her own clothes, she pulled on Cordelia's. She looked at herself in the mirror and was surprised to see that everything fit pretty well. A light knocking on the door caused Buffy to spin around. "Just a second." She pulled a hair piece off her wrist and gently secured her hair into a ponytail. Pleased with her appearance, she briskly walked to the door and opened it to reveal Angel on the other side. He was dressed in black as well, in typical Angel fashion. "Very Mission Impossible. Except for the 'you not being Tom Cruise' part." She laughed playfully.

"Sorry to disappoint you."

"No, it's alright. I like you better anyways." She smiled and swayed her shoulders from side to side. "Its fun, you know? To not be ourselves for once."

"Yeah. It is."

"I've missed this. The two of us working together."

"Me too." Angel looked down into her green eyes and inched a bit closer.

"Now I'm here, and we're together, and it's just really…"

"Confusing?" Angel added in.

"Yeah." She broke her eye contact with him and looked at the floor. "Sorry. I'm just being stupid."

"No, I get it." Angel thought back to a very similar conversation years before.

"All that stuff is in the past though, right?" She attempted a cheery tone and pretended to be nonchalant about the subject.

"Yeah, I guess it is." Angel seemed a bit crestfallen at her words and his brooding look deepened.

A shout from downstairs broke their awkwardness.

"Guys, I think I found a way in!"

"We'll be right down." Buffy faked a smile and glanced back at Angel. "You, uh, better go get your secret agent stuff." She lifted her hand and set it on his arm, giving it a gentle squeeze. "I'll be downstairs."

Angel watched her walk down the hall and mentally kicked himself for the thoughts invading his mind. He sighed deeply and went to get his supplies.

------

Angel came down the stairs and saw Buffy on the couch. Her head jerked up at the sound of his bag hitting the floor.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Worry laced her voice as she spoke.

Before Angel could answer, Gunn came bursting through the front door. "They found Cordy's car, it was abandoned out on the highway… but no Cordelia."

Angel glanced back at Buffy. "Does that give you your answer?"

Buffy gave him an understanding nod.

Angel turned his attention to Fred. "Do you have everything you need?"

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure."

Switching focus again, Angel turned back towards the door. "Gunn, I need you to stay here and continue looking up information."

"Got it." Gunn walked back and took Fred's spot at the computer.

"Buffy, you ready?" Angel moved to face her.

"As I'll ever be I suppose." She stood up and smoothed out the wrinkles in her shirt. "Let's do this."

------

"Angel, don't you think that maybe we should wait a while before doing something this drastic?" Fred stared up at the fence, dreading having to get over it.

"The longer we wait the more trouble Cordelia might be in. We can't just sit around and let something happen to her." Angel shot the rappelling hook up onto the top of the fence. He leaned over and latched the clip onto Fred's pants. "Everything's gonna be alright."

Fred smiled at him and climbed up the wall. Once Fred was on the other side, Angel reached for Buffy's waist, only to be stopped by her hand.

"You go ahead. You need me to help you get the stuff over."

Angel nodded and attached himself to the rope. Buffy handed up the bag of supplies and he grabbed it as he disappeared behind the fence. Buffy clipped her body in place and scaled the wall easily. At the top, she tugged on the rappelling hook in an attempt to bring it down with her. Unfortunately, it wouldn't budge.

"Is everything okay?" Angel watched her struggle from below.

"Not exactly… It's stuck." She kept on pulling as hard as she could. "Almost got—" The hook came loose and Buffy flew down from the fence. With a soft "Oomph," Buffy crashed on top of Angel and tackled them both to the ground. "Oh god. Angel, are you okay?" Lying on top of his stomach, her face was only inches away from his.

"I'll be fine." He could feel her warm breath on his skin as he stared into her concern-filled eyes. Remembering why they were there, he carefully lifted Buffy up and slid out from under her.

"Sorry." Buffy brushed herself off and pushed a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

Angel looked at both of the girls and motioned for them to follow him. "Come on."

They reached the entrance of the building and saw the electrical box. Angel yanked the door open to reveal a tangled mess of wires.

"Wonderful. So, blue wire or red wire?" Buffy said as she peered inside the box.

"I'm gonna go with all of them." Angel gathered them all into his hand and yanked the wires out.

"I guess that works too." Buffy turned and looked at the heavy metal door. "I'm hoping our way of opening the door is a bit more subtle."

Fred walked up with some strange gadget and held it over the door. "Subtle is my specialty."

The light above the lock flashed green and Fred pulled the door open. Once they were inside, Angel laid out the plans on the floor.

"Alright, Fred, you need to go here," he pointed to a place on the map, "Take care of any security problems."

Fred nodded in response.

"Buffy, I need you to take out any guards you find."

"Okay."

"And I'll go get the axis." Angel stood up and gathered his things. "Be careful. Both of you."

Buffy smiled. "You know me."

They all headed off in different ways, not knowing that they were being watched.

Gwen spied on the three through the security cameras. "Yeah, that's not good."

------

Buffy scanned the halls for any guards, but came up empty. "Yeah, some security," she scoffed.

"Hey!"

"I guess I spoke too soon." Buffy turned around to see an armed guard glaring at her.

"What are you doing here?"

"I… um, I'm here because of… my cat." She mentally slapped herself for the lameness of her excuse.

"Your cat?" The guard crossed his arms over his chest, clearly not buying her alibi.

"Yeah, he uh, came in through a window… so I followed him… through the window."

"Right, I need you to come with me."

"Oh look, it's Mr. Fluffy!" Buffy squealed and pointed over the guard's shoulder.

"What?" The guard turned to look where she was pointing. "I don't see any—"

A hard right hook connected with the guy's jaw and he dropped to the floor. Buffy smirked and leaned over to grab him by his shirt. "Okay Tubby, let's find you a closet." She dragged him along and pushed a near-by door open. The closet was cloaked in darkness, but Buffy just shoved the man inside. She failed to notice the several other guards lying on the floor as well. Smiling to herself, she brushed her hands off and went to see if Angel needed assistance.

------

Buffy rounded a corner to see Angel standing in front of a large room. "Hey there, Mr. Fluffy."

Angel snapped his head back at the sound. "Buffy you…" His face contorted in confusion. "Mr. what?"

"Long story. So is this the spot?" She nodded in the direction of the room.

"I think so." He sprayed something into the room, revealing green security lasers crisscrossing the perimeter.

Buffy stared for a moment. "I can get through."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, I just—" Suddenly Buffy was knocked backwards by the gate coming down. "That wasn't my fault."

Angel reached out a hand and helped her to her feet. "Yeah, I know. But who…" His eyes fixed on the girl who dropped from the ceiling.

"Who the hell is this?" An exasperated Buffy screamed at no one in particular.

"Who are you?" The girl hung on a rope in an upside down position.

"I asked you first." Buffy retorted with anger in her voice.

"Take it easy, cupcake."

"My _name_ is Buffy."

"See, now we're all acquainted." She dropped her hand down and deflected the lasers. Flipping into an upright position, she jumped to the ground.

Buffy continued her interrogation despite the display. "I still don't know your name."

"Gwen." She pulled back her sleeve and sent blue shocks into the electric box, turning off the lasers.

"Okay, so we know who you are. Now the question becomes what you are." Buffy folded her arms across her chest.

"I thought that was obvious, I'm a freak." She smiled sarcastically.

Angel finally stepped forward and spoke up. "Please tell me you're not here for the axis."

Buffy rolled her eyes. Of course that was all he cared about.

"So the boyfriend speaks."

Both Buffy and Angel jumped to correct her.

"No, we're not… I'm not…"

"He's not my boyfriend."

The pair glanced at each other with somewhat hurt expressions before returning their attention to Gwen.

"A bit defensive, aren't we?" She gave off a pleased smirk.

Brushing off the comment, Buffy pressed on with the original topic. "You didn't answer the question."

"So what if I am here for the axis?"

Angel grasped the bars in his hands. "We need it."

Gwen shrugged and shocked the security sensor, opening the door to where the axis was held. She swiftly grabbed the axis and placed it in her bag. As she walked back into the room, Angel pleaded with her again.

"Please. I'm trying to find someone. Someone very important to me. I need her."

Pain flashed across Buffy's face and she tried her best to focus on anything but Angel.

A frown formed on Gwen's face and she pursed her lips together. "Her. Of course it's a her. Two questions. One, do you really love her?"

Angel froze up for a moment. His gaze moved to Buffy, who appeared to be finding the floor very interesting as she stared downward. He looked back to Gwen and in a low voice whispered, "Yeah, I do."

Gwen noticed the muscles in Buffy's face tense up when Angel responded. She decided not to comment on it and finished up her questioning. "Two, on a scale of one to ten, exactly how stupid do you think I am?"

Buffy perked up at this and lifted her head to face Gwen. "I can answer that."

Suddenly alarms started blaring and the gate flew up.

"Way to go, Fred."

Buffy ran in and swung a roundhouse kick into the side of Gwen's head.

Gwen recovered from the blow and shoved her hand against Buffy's chest, delivering a jolt of electricity.

Buffy slid across the floor and slumped against the wall.

Angel rushed over to her huddled figure. He could feel a faint pulse and knew that Buffy was alive. He looked up at Gwen, who gave him a taunting look before slipping up into the ceiling. Angel debated going after her, but at the sound of Buffy's moan, he dismissed the idea.

"Angel?"

"I'm here. You okay?" He crouched down to meet her eyes.

"Yeah. Where's electro bitch?"

"She's gone. She got the axis." He did his best to conceal the disappointment he felt.

Buffy sighed deeply. "Great."

"It's okay. Don't worry about it."

"I know. We'll find it… I'm not worried about that. But… Angel?"

"Yeah?"

"How's my hair?"

He laughed deeply and helped her rise to her feet. "Come on." He draped an arm over her shoulders and gave the far arm a brief squeeze. "Let's go home."

**A/N: Yeah... that was an overly long chapter. I'm already writing the next one, so let's hope that one doesn't take me quite as long. And no matter how mad you all might be for the wait, feedback is still strongly encouraged! I love to know what you all think.**


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